


And They Were Roommates

by BornToLose



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Roommates, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:01:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21707884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToLose/pseuds/BornToLose
Summary: When you found out you’re going to share your dorm room with a boy, you hoped you’d be good friends. But it doesn’t take you long to realize you might feel more for John…
Relationships: John Deacon/You
Comments: 9
Kudos: 25





	And They Were Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> I know it took me some time *cough* because of school drama and stuff, but here we have this big mama, which I think turned out pretty good. Please tell me what you think and if maybe you'd like a part 2?

It was your first day in London. You didn’t know anyone in this city and none of your friends moved here to study with you, so you hadn’t really been able to choose the person you’d have to live with for the next year at least. You had no clue who it would be, but you had gotten an email two weeks prior that it’s possible you’d have to share a room with a boy due to space issues. As long as he wasn’t an asshole you were fine with it. Not ideal, but better than having to stay in your hometown and go to community college where your possibilities to become a writer would have been very slim.

On your way through the dorm, you were scanning for your room. When you finally found it on the fourth floor, you opened the door with much difficulty and dragged your suitcase and two bags inside.

“Hello!” You looked up and saw a smiling boy with shoulder-length brown hair sitting on the bed to the right with an open book in his lap. “Oh, let me help you with that,” he blurted before you could even greet him.

He jumped up and rushed over to you, taking your luggage and closing the door behind you. “I’m John.” He stuck his hand out and you took it, shaking it awkwardly. It was a bit weird for you to shake hands with someone your age, but at least he wasn’t obtrusive like other guys.

“Hi, I’m (y/n). Nice to meet you!”

You both sat down across from each other on your respective beds and you looked around. The room wasn’t huge, but a good size for two people. The only problem was that you didn’t have separate bedrooms. You really hoped you two would get along well, especially because you couldn’t even retreat to your own room when it got too much.

“We can go buy some additional furniture and decorations tomorrow if you like,” he offered shyly as he noticed you inspecting the room.

“Thanks for the offer,” you smiled and nodded. “Still looks quite spartanic.”

He laughed in agreement and combed a hand through his hair - probably something he did when he was nervous. “So… what are you majoring in?”

“English, I want to become a writer. I’m currently writing a book and I hope that someone will publish it when it’s finished,” you explained, but stopped yourself before you’d start rambling about your book and all your detailed plans for the plot. “How about you?”

“I study electrical engineering,” he replied.

“Cool! I mean I couldn’t do this, I have two left hands when it comes to technology, but that’s really interesting.”

And another pause before a breathy chuckle escaped John’s mouth. “God, we’re so bad at small talk! Wanna go out for coffee and unpack our things later? I pay.”

He was right - you were both terrible at keeping up a conversation. Hopefully getting coffee together would lift the mood a little and bring new talking points. Definitely better than sitting on your beds and awkwardly talking about college at least.

You gave him a genuine smile. “Would love to."

* * *

By the time classes started, you and your new roommate had created a room you both actually liked. Now the beds weren’t standing so close together anymore, the desks were located by the foot of each bed and you even had a small sofa and a coffee table along with a microwave and some other kitchenaids. Both of you had decorated your desks with some family photos and personal items. Whereas you were the basic polaroids and fairy lights type, John’s wall by the bed was plastered in posters of rock bands and a bass was on a guitar stand next to the window. Admittedly, you had a weakness for musicians and now you really wanted to hear him play…

You and John had become really good friends in a fairly short period of time. When you’d gone out for coffee, you had found you had a lot in common and he was a good listener which earned him some bonus points. You weren’t used to having someone outside of your family who was willing to listen to you gush over something you were passionate about. He was a real sweetheart and you were slowly getting worried you might develop feelings for him. One of the reasons you didn’t want that to happen was because if he only liked you as a friend - which you were pretty sure about - or things ended between the two of you, you’d still have to live together for the rest of the year at the very least and that would be incredibly awkward. Second, he probably had a girlfriend already because why the hell should someone like him still be single? Besides, you hated how cliché the whole thought was. You hoped it was just a little crush and you’d forget about it after a few weeks.

One day you were sitting at your desk, working on your book when the door opened. “Room service,” John called jokingly as he stepped in. “I just did some shopping and got you something.”

You closed the laptop lid and turned your head, raising your eyebrows. He grinned and placed an iced coffee next to your notepad along with a dark chocolate bar. “Heard that helps when you’re a writer,” he added sheepishly before sitting on his bed.

“Thanks, that’s really thoughtful of you, but you don’t have to buy me things,” you said, taking a sip of the coffee. Iced white mocha. He actually remembered what you’d ordered at Starbucks on your first day together. These were the moments you wished he could stop being so adorable because it only made you fall more in love with him just when you thought you’d gotten over your feelings.

The brunette looked up from his textbook and smiled, showing his tiny tooth gap. “No problem.”

You opened your laptop again, but as you tried to continue writing, Word crashed right when you were about to save your progress. “Fuck, really?!” You yelled, tugging on your hair in frustration.

“You okay?” John asked worriedly.

“John!” you whined, throwing your head back and kicking your legs, nearly knocking your coffee over, but you caught it in time. “The fucking program crashed!” You’d had a similar problem before, but this time you really didn’t know how to fix it yourself.

He climbed off his bed and stood behind you, propping his left hand up on the desk as he tried to figure the situation out. “Did you save the document?”

“No… I wanted to,” you murmured, feeling dumb for not clicking one damn button over the course of one and a half hours.

“Alright, wait a minute.” You scooted away to give him more space. You watched him as he fixed the glitch, but you rather focused on his concentrated face and how angelic he looked in profile than on how to solve the problem. If someone had asked you, you couldn’t have recalled a thing of what he did. Soon he was done and your work was back in its entirety. “Here you go!”

“Oh, thank you! You’re an angel!” You half-hugged his torso from the side and he wrapped his arms around your shoulder, chuckling softly.

“You’re welcome.” When you let him go, he sat down on the couch. “What’s your book about?”

That question made you want to melt into the chair. You loved talking about your stories, but no one would listen to all your thoughts. John, on the other hand, seemed genuinely interested. You turned in your chair to face him and smiled. “I start rambling when it comes to writing, you know?”

He nodded. “Got no problem with that.”

“Alright, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

John listened intently as you talked about the basic outline of the plot and he even asked questions about the characters. How could you say no? You apologized multiple times for babbling, but he just smiled reassuringly whenever you did.

“Can I read a bit?” he asked when you had told him every single character trait and detail about the storyline.

“Er, no… I haven’t finished it yet,” you stammered as you tried to come up with an excuse. You were a perfectionist writer and never let anyone read a work of yours without editing the whole thing at least twice.

“Come on, I’ve already read some of it while fixing your computer issue! It’s good,” he insisted. “Don’t you want to give me the honour to be your first reader?” He dramatically put a hand on his chest and feigned a hurt look.

It was only the fifth ring of your alarm at quarter past seven that woke you up after John had already been gone. He usually got up much earlier than you so you didn’t have to wait for him to get done in the bath and sometimes when he had to talk about something important with professors before class, he left before you. You figured today was one of those days.

You looked at him skeptically for a few seconds and gave in, hating that you could never resist him. “Only because it’s you.”

* * *

You scrambled to get ready in the bathroom and just when you were getting dressed, you couldn’t find any of your pullovers. It was too cold for a shirt and all your other warm clothes were either in the laundry or somewhere in the depths of your closet. You scanned the room for something you could throw on and your eyes fell on John’s yellow sweatshirt. No, you can’t just steal his clothes! That’s only something girls do with their boyfriends! After contemplating for a second, you thought fuck it and quickly put the sweater on - you were in a hurry, after all. Anyway, it wasn’t like you were stealing it; you’d give it back to him after school. It still smelled like him and suddenly, you really wanted to know which perfume he used because you loved it. You grabbed your bag and rushed out of the room, praying under your breath that you wouldn’t be too late.

Later that day, you met John by the stairs outside the building to walk home. A smirk appeared on his face as you came up to him. “I see you’re wearing my sweater?”

You started blushing - you had almost forgotten you were still wearing it. “Uh, yes… I slept through and mine were all in the laundry and this was the only one I could find. Sorry, I barely made it to class in time,” you apologized frantically.

John laughed, biting his tongue. “It’s fine, really. Actually, it looks pretty cute on you! You can keep it if you want.”

“Thanks- I mean, no! You can have it back, it’s yours.” Did you just hear that correctly or were you fantasizing? He said you looked cute _and_ offered you to keep his sweater? Why did he have to be the literal perfect man at all times? You didn’t understand.

He shook his head and grinned. “Well, now it’s yours. This is not the only one I own, y'know?”

You stopped arguing and made your way back to the dorm, chatting about your day. Apparently John had tried to wake you in the morning, but you’d been sleeping like a log.

* * *

Even when you were sick, he was a real sweetie - even more so than usual. The first thing he did after coming back from class was to make you chicken noodle soup and tea with honey. Most of the time you were sleeping when he came home, so when he was done cooking, he gently woke you up to tell you you could eat. You’ve gotten into kind of a routine, even though you had told him multiple times he didn’t have to do all this and you could get by on your own. He refused. He knew you needed at least some help, but “some help” quickly turned into full mother hen mode.

This time when he came home, you couldn’t sleep, so you were sitting on his bed and listening to the unlabeled CD that you had found lying on it. You wondered who the band was because you really liked the music and you’d never heard of them before. Probably some newcomer indie band, you assumed. John was quiet as he opened the door and looked at you in confusion upon noticing you were awake. It was unusual and he was starting to worry if everything was okay.

“(Y/n), what are you doing in my bed?” Not that he minded, he was fine with it as long as you didn’t sit on it when he wanted to sleep - and as long as there wasn’t someone else in his bed with you.

You pulled your earphones out and put your laptop away. “Oh, just listening to this one CD you left here. It’s really good!”

When he understood which one you meant, his face went pale and he climbed up in an attempt to get it back. “No, no! Give it back, you shouldn’t listen to it,” he stammered nervously, stretching his arm out.

You frowned and lifted the laptop in the air so it was out of reach for him. “Why not?”

“Um… it-it’s my band’s demo tape,” he explained shyly.

“Aww, Deaks! Wait, you’re in a band? Since when?” You had so many questions.

John plopped down on his chair, running a hand through his hair. “Since last month. They’ve written a few songs before with their old band, but they were looking for a bassist and I met the guitarist, Brian, at a party and… yeah, he asked me to join them and that’s that.”

“What’s you guys’ name?” you asked and coughed, shifting in the bed so you were lying on your stomach.

“Queen.”

You smiled. “That’s a cool name! Have you had any gigs yet?”

He shook his head. “No, that’s why we recorded the demo with five songs first. We want to send it to a couple of clubs in London, hoping we get some offers. Roger might be able to get us a gig in Truro this summer because his mother lives there. He’s the drummer, by the way.”

“Tell me when you play a show? I’d love to come!”

“Of course, you’ll be the first to know,” he said with a wink.

You felt like your heart stopped at his wink, but you quickly got those thoughts out of your head. He was probably just being friendly because you were his roommate and he could use any support he could get. Nothing personal. “Say, who’s the singer? Do I know him?”

“Freddie Bulsara. He goes to Ealing and runs a market stall with Roger.”

“Hm… don’t know him,” you murmured and decided to continue asking him about his band because he obviously liked talking about it. “Do you write songs?”

“The others do, but I don’t. I only write for myself, but I’m not really good at it,” he replied sheepishly.

“C'mon I bet your songs are good, even if you don’t think so! Just show them to somebody.”

John gave you a warm smile. “Thank you. Maybe I can show you a draft sometime.”

Your eyes lit up in excitement. You couldn’t believe he actually offered you to be the first to listen to one of his songs. To you, it felt like you had the honour to witness the first steps of a rockstar. “Really? Will you sing it then?”

He laughed and covered his mouth, shaking his head. “I can’t sing!”

You made puppy eyes at him. “Okay, maybe I can try, but don’t judge me! I’ve never had lessons, y'know.”

The way he looked at you right now almost made you melt. He sounded excited while talking to you about his new project and he always held eye contact, never finding any distractions. His eyes and ears were glued to you and his voice was so soothing, you wished you could fall asleep to it every night.

You yawned into the back of your hand and turned in his bed. “Why is your bed so much more comfortable than mine? That’s not fair!”

“Perks of being the first to move in, I guess,” he smirked. “I tested the beds and decided this one is better.”

You shot him a playful glare and pulled the covers over your head. John chuckled and dragged them back down. “You can take a nap in it if you want, but please don’t suffocate yourself. I can’t have a dead body lying around in my bed.”

“Can I?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll just do homework in the meantime. Are you hungry?”

“No, thank you.” You rolled over to your side, wrapping the duvet around your body. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” Unbeknownst to you, John stayed by the bed for a couple of moments, smiling dreamily before finally sitting at his desk and getting to work. Every now and then while doing his homework, he checked on you if you were okay. It was getting a little longer than a small nap, but he didn’t want to wake you up because you were sleeping so peacefully.

He was already done for today when you murmured suddenly, “’M cold.”

John stood up and grabbed the blanket from the sofa, walking over to you and tucking you in. He slightly rubbed your back, whispering, “Good?”

You shook your head. “No.”

“Do you want me to get in and warm you up?” he joked.

“…Please?” You only turned your head a bit, opening one eye.

He hesitated for a moment and almost considered saying no, but you literally asked him to and he could tell you were being serious. Personally, he didn’t have anything against it either. It really was pretty cold and the heater hadn’t been working properly in the last few days. John turned the desk lamp off and climbed into his bed, careful where to put his hands while wrapping his arms around your waist. He didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. It felt strange to both of you, his warm breath tickling your neck as he pulled you close to his chest to warm you up. _You were just friends._

“Thanks,” you mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning you woke up with your head on someone’s chest. You were confused for a second before remembering what you had asked your roommate to do last night. Your breathing pillow was John and the hand on your back was also his. As well as the hand on your hip… You felt embarrassed for ending up with your legs tangled together because it looked like you had just hooked up, but when you sleep the whole night through, you change your position a lot, right? Anyways, he wasn’t awake yet and you used this opportunity to cuddle up to him, burying your face in his Hard Rock Café hoodie that he’d been wearing since yesterday morning, but still smelled of his perfume - Hugo Boss The Scent, as you’d found out recently.

After a moment you noticed him move, but he didn’t get very far with half of your body lying on top of him. He tried to open his eyes and murmured, “Morning.”

“Morning.” Your voice was muffled against his pullover and you didn’t bother removing your head. It was just too cozy.

“Slept well?” he rasped, smirking down at you with his eyes at half-mast.

“Yeah. Thanks to my very own heater,” you replied nonchalantly, finally looking up.

John nodded and slowly moved his hand from your back up into your hair. You leaned into his touch and closed your eyes, resting your head on his chest again. You weren’t actually tired anymore, just too lazy to get up. Besides, he practically initiated it and he didn’t tell you to get up.

“Oh, sorry!” he apologized and removed his hand from your hip, clearing his throat. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I-”

“Shut up,” you muttered and shifted to your back. “It’s alright.”

To be honest, you were sad that he ruined it by awkwardly apologizing for nullities. You weren’t mad at him, you only wished he could have let you stay like this a little longer as you weren’t in the mood to get out of bed yet. You rubbed your eyes and looked at the clock above the window. “Shouldn’t you be in class right now? It’s past eight…”

He shook his head and turned to the side, propping himself up on his elbow. “Nope, all classes are cancelled for today. My professor said we get the day off to work on our battery charger project, but I’d rather lie around for a few more minutes.”

You rolled over to face him, surprised by his suggestion to stay in bed. “C'mere,” he offered sleepily, pulling you closer.

“Does your girlfriend approve?” you teased, secretly thankful for him to finally do something like making a move. To you, it seemed unrealistic, but why else should he voluntarily cuddle with you in the morning? That’s not exactly what friends do.

“Don’t have one.” He shrugged, adding barely audible, but loud enough for you to hear, “Yet…”

You smiled internally, but it soon faded. Maybe this was the right moment to tell him. Either it would end well or you’d ruin your friendship. Was it really worth the risk? You didn’t know; your mind couldn’t properly function this early.

“Is there someone specific you’re thinking about?” God, this was such a dumb way to approach the topic!

“Maybe.” John stared at the ceiling, then glanced over to you. “How about you?”

“Actually… yes,” you started carefully.

“Do I know them?”

“Definitely.”

He laughed. “Is this gonna be a quiz show? You know you can tell me everything!”

_Yes, but not this._ You nervously bit your lip. Whatever, go big or go home. “It’s you.”

“I knew it.” He turned his head away, a smile of satisfaction on his face.

Your head shot up and you looked at him in confusion. “W-what do you mean?” Honestly, you didn’t know what was going on. Was he just kidding or had he known about it all along? Had somebody told him? But then again, you hadn’t told anyone how you felt about John…

“Love, you think you’re good at hiding it, but you really aren’t,” he chuckled, pushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

You huffed and wiggled out of his arms. “Don’t be mad at me! I love you too,” he said sincerely. “Really. Sorry for laughing, it’s just kinda funny how your signs are obvious, but you’re so clueless.”

You wanted to be angry at him for laughing, but what really got you was the ‘I love you too’. And he meant it! It felt sort of surreal.

“Hey, are you still sick?” he asked all of a sudden, drawing circles on your upper arm.

You raised an eyebrow at the change of topic. Why would he bring this up right now? “As in too sick to go to class or…?”

“As in too sick to get kissed without infecting me,” he whispered. “I’d rather not be sick for the next week, even if that would mean spending more time with you.”

When you shook your head, he leaned in closer to you, holding your face in one hand and softly brushing his lips against yours. You were too dumbfounded to kiss back at first, but you eventually did, although he ended up doing most of the work. He was really sweet and gentle with no intention to get any further. You could tell he was focused on making this kiss as enjoyable as possible for you and he certainly succeeded.

Even the moment you pulled away made the butterflies in your stomach flutter in delight. John was grinning mischievously. “May I quote the Vine at this point?”

“May I say that would totally ruin the moment?”


End file.
